The Small Gtpase Rac1 Contributes to Extinction of Aversive Memories
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7096 • The Journal of Neuroscience, July 26, 2017 • 37(30):7096–7110 Behavioral/Cognitive The Small GTPase Rac1 Contributes to Extinction of Aversive Memories of Drug Withdrawal by Facilitating GABAA Receptor Endocytosis in the vmPFC Weisheng Wang,1* Yun-Yue Ju,1* Qi-Xin Zhou,2* Jian-Xin Tang,3 Meng Li,2 Lei Zhang,4 Shuo Kang,1 Zhong-Guo Chen,1 Yu-Jun Wang,1 Hui Ji,3 XYu-Qiang Ding,4 XLin Xu,2,5,6 and Jing-Gen Liu1 1Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai 201203, China, 2Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms, and Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, China, 3Department of Pharmacology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China, 4Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China, 5KIZ-SU Joint Laboratory of Animal Model and Drug Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China, and 6CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 200031, China Extinction of aversive memories has been a major concern in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders and drug addiction. However, the mechanisms underlying extinction of aversive memories are not fully understood. Here, we report that extinction of conditionedplaceaversion(CPA)tonaloxone-precipitatedopiatewithdrawalinmaleratsactivatesRhoGTPaseRac1intheventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in a BDNF-dependent manner, which determines GABAA receptor (GABAAR) endocytosis via triggering synaptic translocation of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) through facilitating actin polymerization. Active Rac1 is essential and sufficient for GABAAR endocytosis and CPA extinction. Knockdown of Rac1 expression within the vmPFC of rats using Rac1-shRNAsuppressedGABAARendocytosisandCPAextinction,whereasexpressionofaconstitutivelyactiveformofRac1accelerated GABAAR endocytosis and CPA extinction. The crucial role of GABAAR endocytosis in the LTP induction and CPA extinction is evinced by the findings that blockade of GABAAR endocytosis by a dynamin function-blocking peptide (Myr-P4) abolishes LTP induction and CPA extinction. Thus, the present study provides first evidence that Rac1-dependent GABAAR endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories and reveals the sequence of molecular events that contribute to learning experience modulation of synaptic GABAAR endocytosis. Key words: aversive memory; drug withdrawal; endocytosis; extinction; GABAA receptor; Rac1 Significance Statement This study reveals that Rac1-dependent GABAAR endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories associated with drug withdrawal and identifies Arc as a downstream effector of Rac1 regulations of synaptic plasticity as well as learning and memory, thereby suggesting therapeutic targets to promote extinction of the unwanted memories. Introduction drug taking (Koob, 2000; Hutcheson et al., 2001). Extinction of The aversive memory associated with drug withdrawal can evoke such memory has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for the motivational and/or emotional states that lead to compulsive treatment of drug addiction (Barad, 2005; Davis et al., 2006; Hof- mann et al., 2006). Our previous study demonstrates that epigenetic regulation within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) of Received Dec. 19, 2016; revised June 1, 2017; accepted June 8, 2017. Author contributions: W.W., Y.-Y.J., and Y.-Q.D. designed research; W.W., Y.-Y.J., Q.-X.Z., J.-X.T., M.L., L.Z., S.K., Z.-G.C., Y.-J.W., and H.J. performed research; W.W. and Y.-Y.J. analyzed data; L.X. and J.-G.L. wrote the paper. Correspondence should be addressed to either of the following: Dr. Lin Xu, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of China Grants 2013CB835100 and Human Disease Mechanisms, and Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese 2015CB553502 to J.-G.L., Ministry of Science and Technology of China Grant 2013CB8351003 to L.X., Foundation of Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, China, E-mail: [email protected]; or Dr. Jing-Gen Liu, Key Laboratory of National Natural Science of China Grants 81130087 and 91232716 to J.-G.L., and Committee of Science and Tech- ReceptorResearch,ShanghaiInstituteofMateriaMedica,ChineseAcademyofSciencesandCollaborativeInnovation nology of Shanghai Grant 13JC140680 to J.-G.L. Center for Brain Science, Shanghai 201203, China, E-mail: [email protected]. The authors declare no competing financial interests. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3859-16.2017 *W.W., Y.-Y.J., and Q.-X.Z. contributed equally to this work. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/377096-15$15.00/0 Wang et al. • Small GTPase Rac1 and Extinction of Aversive Memories of Drug Withdrawal J. Neurosci., July 26, 2017 • 37(30):7096–7110 • 7097 BDNF transcription is required for the extinction of conditioned aptic plasticity and learning and reveal a mechanism of extinction place aversion (CPA) to naloxone-precipitated opiate withdrawal of drug withdrawal memory. (Wang et al., 2012). However, the mechanisms by which BDNF in the mPFC contribute to the extinction of aversive memory are unknown. Materials and Methods Extinction of classical fear conditioning is an active learning Animals Sprague Dawley male rats weighing 220–250 g were obtained from the process requiring synaptic structural plasticity (Lai et al., 2012). Laboratory Animal Center, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or Kun- Dendritic spines, which are central to synaptic structural plastic- ming Medical University. Rats were housed 3 per cage and maintained on ity (Lu¨scher et al., 2000), undergo activity-dependent structural a 12 h light/dark cycle with access to food and water ad libitum. Rac1 remodeling that has been proposed to be a cellular basis of LTP transgenic mice were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (stock (Engert and Bonhoeffer, 1999; Toni et al., 1999) as well as learn- #012361) and reproduced and bred until 2 months old at the Animal ing and memory (Matsuzaki et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2009; Fu et Center of TongJi University. All experimental procedures were in strict al., 2012). Activity-dependent changes in spine structure rely accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the care and on rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton. One of the best- use of laboratory animals. characterized pathways for regulation of actin dynamics involves the Rho family of small GTPases, Rac1, Cdc42, and Rho (Hall, Drugs and antibodies 1998, 2005). Rac1 has been shown to play a crucial role in synapse Morphine hydrochloride was purchased from Qinghai Pharmaceutical General Factory with a permission license for its use in experiments from formation and plasticity (Luo, 2000; Nakayama et al., 2000). local government (Shanghai and Kunming). Naloxone hydrochloride Studies of the role of Rac1 in spine morphogenesis in vivo and was supplied by Sigma-Aldrich (catalog #N7758). Latrunculin A was vitro have suggested that Rac1 plays an important role in regulat- obtained from Merck/Millipore (catalog #428021) and dissolved in 25% ing the size and density of spines in neurons (Luo et al., 1996; DMSO to a final concentration of 0.5 g/l; BDNF was obtained from Zhang et al., 2003; Tolias et al., 2005; Xie et al., 2007). Although R&D Systems (catalog #248-BD-025/CF) and dissolved in PBS to 1.5 substantial evidence demonstrates that Rac1 is essential for di- g/l; TrkB/FC was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (catalog #T8694) and verse forms of learning, little is known whether Rac1 participates dissolved in PBS to 1.3 g/l; NSC23766 (catalog #2161), Myr-P4 (cat- in an opposing form of learning (extinction) and how Rac1 con- alog #1776), and Myr-S (control) were obtained from Tocris Bioscience tributes to extinction of an established memory. and dissolved in PBS to 10 g/ l, 60 pmol/ l, and 60 pmol/ l, respec- Information processing in brain is controlled by a dynamic tively. The antibodies of anti-BDNF (catalog #sc-546, RRID: AB_630940) and anti-Arc/Arg3.1 (catalog #sc-17839, RRID: AB_626696) were pur- interaction between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmis- chased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. The antibodies of anti-pPak1 (cat- sion. GAGAA receptors (GABAARs) constitute the major inhibi- alog #2601S, RRID: AB_330220), anti-pCofilin (catalog #3311S, RRID: tory synaptic transmission network in the brain and are essential AB_330238), and anti-Rac1/cdc42 (catalog #4651S, RRID: AB_10612265) for maintaining the excitatory/inhibitory balance of neuronal cir- were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology. The antibodies of anti-  cuits (Lu¨scher et al., 2011). Modulating the strength of GABAergic GABAA 3 (catalog #05-474, RRID: AB_11212228) were purchased from inhibitory transmission has important implications for synaptic Merck/Millipore. The antibodies of anti-actin (catalog #A5441, RRID: plasticity and information processing in the brain (Smith and AB_476744) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Kittler, 2010). It has been shown that inhibiting GABAergic transmission facilitates LTP induction in excitatory synapses in Intra-vmPFC microinjection many brain regions, including mPFC (Wigstro¨m and Gustafsson, Surgery. Rats (weighing 220–280 g when surgery